At its peak in the 1980's, Shamahala had about 25 runners, but that tapered off as members became increasingly busy with work and young children.

The number of participants has grown dramatically, from about 100 runners in 1973 to 1,985 runners in 2009.

This run through the park is held annually at the of October or early November and attracts about 500 runners.

In New York, there are about 29,975 runners in a field of 30,000 who are unconcerned with winning.

Hermens also represents about 20 Ethiopian runners, and he has already had a confrontation with their federation.

The worst ratio for a starting pitcher over the course of a season is about 15 runners per nine innings.

About 4,500 runners have entered the marathon through this method in each of the past two years, Wittenberg, the associate race director, said.

Tjela beat about 2,000 runners in 2 hours 15 minutes 1 second.

The race draws about 700 runners, and is held annually on Victoria Day, a Canadian national holiday.

Marathon officials invite about 36,000 runners annually with the expectation that about 30,000 or 31,000 will participate.